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Castlevania: Symphony of the Night gets a surprise release on mobile

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Castlevania- Symphony of the Night
Well, that's my Wednesday sorted!
Photo: Konami

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, probably the most beloved entry in the action-adventure gothic Castlevania franchise, got a surprise release on mobile Tuesday.

Originally released on PlayStation in 1997, Symphony of the Night changed the series’ direction. It did this by borrowing not from the existing Castlevania formula, but by augmenting it with RPG elements from games like Zelda II and Metroid. It’s pretty darn great.

Apple temporarily closing one store in Italy amidst coronavirus outbreak

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Apple Oriocenter 2
Apple Oriocenter won't be open this weekend.
Photo: Apple

As Italy fights to halt the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, Apple is temporarily closing a single store location in Italy on orders of the Italian government.

The mall-based Apple Oriocenter store, located in the province of Bergamo, will be closed on March 7 and 8. This is the result of a decision by the President of the Council of Ministers that medium and large retail stores, as well as commercial outlets in shopping centers, must close this weekend.

Advanced features make latest Mophie power bank a total champ [Review]

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Mophie Powerstation Plus XL Wireless review
It’s a good thing that the Mophie Powerstation Plus XL Wireless is useful, because it’s sure not very attractive.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Mophie Powerstation Plus XL doesn’t just extend the battery life of your iPhone, it also makes recharging your handset a snap. The 8000mAh power bank has an integrated Lightning cable, plus it offers wireless charging.

Mophie has a long history of producing top-tier external batteries. That’s why this one is available from the Apple Store. I test this accessory to see if it lives up to its maker’s reputation for dependability.

Apple bans most employees from traveling to Italy and South Korea

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rome
Seeing the Coliseum is a no-go for Apple employees.
Photo: Sean MacEntee/Flickr

Apple has added more travel restrictions for employees this week due to concerns of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Italy and South Korea have been added to Apple’s list of banned destinations, according to a report from Bloomberg. The company instituted a similar restriction on travel to China earlier this month to protect employees’ health.

Missile Command: Recharged brings nuclear-armed nostalgia to your iPhone

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Missile Command: Recharged reminds up we used to think this was going to happen any day.
Missile Command: Recharged updates a fast-paced 1980s classic.
Photo: Atari

An updated version of the arcade classic Missile Command is headed for phones and tablets.. Kids of the 1980s grew up defending cities from incoming nuclear missiles, and soon they’ll be able to relive the action in a new release from Atari.

For real nostalgia, an augmented reality mode will project your gameplay to a virtual arcade cabinet.

Google I/O 2020 goes online-only due to COVID-19 fears

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Sundar Pichai at Google IO
Sundar Pichai's annual keynote appearance will be a streaming-only event.
Photo: Google

The COVID-19 virus killed another major tech event Tuesday, when Google canceled the physical aspect of its annual developers’ conference, Google I/O 2020.

The company sent emails to attendees this afternoon notifying them that the event, scheduled to take place from May 12 to 14, has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns. The news came shortly after Adobe canceled its annual developers’ conference.

How to mark email as junk on your iPhone

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junk mail
The inevitable spam:junk-mail metaphor image
Photo: Pau Casals/Unsplash

Your iPhone’s Mail app is pretty good. It does most of what you need, and you can be sure that it doesn’t steal your email password, or send details from your incoming mail to Apple. There are even a bunch of very powerful smart folders and features hidden in its sidebar. But getting basic stuff done is sometimes awkward, thanks to Apple’s insistence on hiding everything in the name of minimalism.

That includes marking an email as spam. It’s actually easy, but you might not know how to do it. Today we’ll look at three ways to mark email as junk mail.

Reviewers slam Amazing Stories ahead of March 6 debut

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Stephen Spielberg announcers Amazing Stories for Apple TV Plus.
Steven Spielberg’s 1980s anthology, Amazing Stories, is being reimagined for Apple TV+
Photo: Apple

Steven Spielberg’s long-awaited Amazing Stories anthology reboot is finally landing on Apple TV+ this Friday, but based on the first wave of reviews, you might want to pass. Apple sent out a screener of the first episode of Season 1 to a few news outlets. And so far, all the reviews have been overwhelmingly negative.

How to restore a previous version of that Mac document you messed up

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With Time Machine versions, you can recover old versions of Mac documents.
Did you delete an old version of an important Mac document? All is not lost.
Photo: Şahin Sezer Dinçer/Pexels CC

Have you ever ruined an essay by over-editing it? Did you ever mistakenly delete a huge chunk of a report, and not realize it until days later? Maybe you thought you’d saved another copy of that important document, but your Mac seems to have swallowed it. No problem, because your Mac saves versions of your documents as you go, and lets you browse and restore them. And it’s all built in to — yes — Time Machine.

Adobe cancels Las Vegas tech conference over COVID-19 fears

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Adobe Summit 2020 canceled
The Summit will be a digital conference, not the live one planned for later this month.
Screenshot: Adobe

Adobe canceled its annual Las Vegas gathering Monday over concerns about the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus. Instead, it will present Adobe Summit 2020 entirely online.

The software company, which attracts around 16,000 attendees to Adobe Summit each year, joins a growing list of tech companies scrapping live events this spring.

Apple preps 14.1-inch MacBook Pro with mini-LED display

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macbookpro
The smallest MacBook Pro is about to get a big upgrade.
Photo: Apple

Apple plans to make an aggressive push adding mini-LED displays to its products in 2020, according to one of the most reliable Apple analysts in the game.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo updated his forecast for Apple’s mini-LED product roadmap Tuesday, saying that the company is working on four more mini-LED products than we originally knew about — including a 14.1-inch MacBook Pro.

Connect devices to the internet with a simple tap [Deals]

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Wifi Porter- NFC-Enabled Device
This Wi-Fi puck connects visitors to the internet with a single tap or scan of their iOS or Android device.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Whether at home or the workplace, connecting a bunch of people to your network can prove annoying. There’s no reason to go hoarse from repeating the password over and over, though. Instead, you can get this wooden puck to make getting online as easy as can be.

Apple shows off the greatest Night mode pictures shot on iPhone

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iPhone Night Mode competition 6
Yu “Eric” Zhang used his Phone 11 Pro Max to snap a stunning night picture in Beijing.
Photo: Yu “Eric” Zhang

Apple has released a selection of its handpicked favorite Night mode pictures taken by iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max users from around the world.

The six winning images were selected by a panel of judges out of thousands of submissions worldwide. The winning photographers hail from China, India, Russia and Spain. You can check out the pick of the pics below:

iPad Pro gets harder to find as rumored refresh looms

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The screen really is beautiful.
But is it just coronavirus?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple’s newest iPad Pro lineup is becoming harder to obtain as supplies dwindle in stores around the world.

The constraints can be an indication that a big refresh is imminent — as recent rumors have suggested. This time around, however, they could have more to do with the production problems arising as a result of the COVID-19 virus  t.

Apple’s biggest manufacturer says production will return to normal by end of March

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Coronavirus-related shutdowns continue to disrupt Chinese factories.
Coronavirus has severely impacted Foxconn production.
Photo: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr CC

Apple manufacturer Foxconn hopes to resume regular production in China by the end of March.

Foxconn’s operations, which include iPhone production lines, have been severely impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. The world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer previously said it expects its full-year revenues to take a hit.

Apple’s shares just rose by more than market cap of Nike and Spotify combined

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money
Apple stock is up a few percentage points just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

It’s easy to forget just what a crazily big and successful company Apple actually is. Even a slight dip or swell in the company’s share price equates to tens of billions of dollars in real terms.

Case in point: As AAPL recovered slightly from the battering of coronavirus over the past two trading days, its market cap increased by $180 billion. As Above Avalon analyst Neil Cybart helpfully points out, that’s the equivalent of the entirety of Netflix. Or Nike and Spotify put together.

Following delay, Apple TV+ movie The Banker has its premiere

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The Banker is the first original movie from Apple TV+.
The original premiere was pushed back due to allegations of abuse.
Photo: Apple

Apple TV+ movie The Banker had its red carpet premiere Monday night at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.

The movie, which is based on a true story, stars Anthony Mackie and Samuel L. Jackson as Bernard Garrett and Joe Morris, two of the first African-American bankers in the United States.

Mario Kart Tour is finally getting multiplayer for everyone March 8

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Mario Kart Tour multiplayer mode
Get ready for some head-to-head battles with up to eight players.
Photo: Nintendo

Mario Kart Tour‘s multiplayer mode is finally rolling out to everyone — and you don’t need to pay up to play it.

The popular Nintendo kart-racing game debuted its first multiplayer beta test in late 2019. However, only players who subscribed to the game’s $4.99 a month Gold Pass could play it. A public beta process took place in January.

Folding iPhone concept might change your opinion on flexible phones

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Foldable iPhone concept by Iskander Utebayev
This amazing foldable iPhone concept is everything that first-gen flexible handsets aren‘t.
Screenshots: Iskander Utebayev

A concept design for a folding iPhone has none of the drawbacks of the handsets with flexible screens released so far. It shows what an iOS device using this tech might look like some time in the future.

Take a look at a short video of the folding iPhone concept in action:

Facebook Messenger for iOS goes light and fast

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Facebook Messenger video chat includes augmented reality.
Not all of the silly features were stripped out of Facebook Messenger.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook shrunk the size of its Messenger app, and stripped out some features, intending to make it faster to load and simpler to navigate.

Some of the missing features will be back, though.

Moment drops Android camera app to focus exclusively on iOS

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iPhone lenses
Moment's Pro Camera app is now iPhone-only.
Photo: Moment

Smartphone lens-maker Moment will develop photo and video apps exclusively for iPhone, after the company said Monday it will discontinue the Android version of its popular Pro Camera app.

Moment, known for its high-quality lenses, bailed on Android because it does not have the “engineering bandwidth” to keep up with the various camera systems among Android brands. The Pro Camera app continues on iOS.

Bag HomePod for under $200, MacBook Air for $749 [Deals & Steals]

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DS-Mar-2-20
And get Apple's official Clear Case for iPhone 11 at 18% less.
Photos: Apple, Twelve South

Apple’s brilliant HomePod speaker is back to its lowest price yet. Best Buy is matching its big Black Friday discount by slashing $100 off the usual price for a limited time only.

That’s just one of the awesome offers in today’s Deals & Steals roundup. Other highlights include:

Find all these and more in today’s Deals & Steals roundup.

Steve Wozniak says he (or his wife) might be ‘patient zero’ for COVID-19 in US

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Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak might, or might not, have helped introduce the coronavirus into the US.
Photo: The DEMO Conference/Flickr CC

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak suggested in a tweet Monday that he or his wife might be “patient zero” for the COVID-19 virus currently spreading in the United States. Wozniak said he and Janet Hill came home from China early this year, as the novel coronavirus began to wreak havoc in Wuhan.

Update: Wozniak’s wife says she has an ordinary sinus infection.